Embodiment of the Christmas Spirit
by The NHK Ambassador
Summary: It's Christmas Time and a certain famous old man sets foot inside of Gensokyo to deliver gifts. Will things to through without a hitch, or is Old Saint Nick going to have a bad time? (This story will be concluded after six stages!)
1. Prologue

Somewhere in the outskirts of Gensokyo, a dimensional rift tears open. This is, in fact, the work of a Youkai in control of boundaries. Her name is Yukari Yakumo, and with her purple mittens, she temporarily severs the boundary between Gensokyo and the outside world. The reason? A familiar artifact called out to her from the other side. A shimmering snow globe makes its way through the portal, followed by a large black mitten. The frigid winds from both sides of the boundary mesh together and create a small vortex of snow. And in the middle of the vortex is a plump old man dressed in red. The man proceeds through the portal. Then, he places his shimmering snow globe inside of a dark green hip pouch.

"That time of year again huh?" says Yukari.

"Indeed it is," the old man replies. "Have you slept well?"

"A little too well. It feels like only yesterday since I last let you in."

The old man rubs his chin. "A shame. Not even my top-of-the-line alarm clock was of any use?"

Yukari shakes her head. "Not when you have irresponsible shikigami that cause power surges."

"Hohoho, I see! Well what would you like this year?"

"A cat-o-nine-tails, some peacock feathers, and a hairbrush with plastic bristles."

The old man smiles uneasily. "Those sound doable. I will see you on the way out."

The old man in red then turns around, puts his thumb and index finger in his mouth, and blows a loud whisper. Eight reindeer barge in through the portal in a double-file fashion. Together, they carry a large red sleigh that the old man mounts immediately. Seconds later, the sleigh lifts from the ground and starts to fly through the snowy skies. Yukari watches the man until vision of him disappears.

"Enjoy your visit, Santa."

* * *

 _The following Christmas Story will be in the form of six stages with our famous special guest being the protagonist! You may discover that future chapters will be written in a simplistic format reminiscent of the core Touhou games, for better or for worse. Also, I will update fast, so please stay tuned!_

 _(P.S. I updated my author profile with a **bolded** special announcement for my main story followers!)_


	2. Stage 1

_~Gensokyo is a lovely place to visit at this time of year - or any time of year when one has a hankering for the extraordinary~_

 **{Stage 1 ~ The White Gensokyo Plains}**

Santa quickly determines that visibility in Gensokyo is just as poor as it is in the outside world. Because of this, Santa truly hopes that he encounters an old friend very soon.

Several fairies attract themselves to the large flying vehicle and attack it. Santa reaches inside one of his smaller bags and pulls out a box filled with assorted ball-shaped ornaments. He then tosses the ornaments one by one. The ornaments hit the fairies directly and shatter on impact. One by one, the fairies fall from the sky. These ornaments are Santa's ammo, or danmaku. This is something that is necessary to navigate through the world of Gensokyo without much difficulty. Santa knows this, as this is not the first time he has been here.

" _Hey mister!"_

[Cirno Enters]

" _Let me borrow your red nose!"_

A fairy clad in a blue dress and wings made of icicles approaches Santa. She came from the top of a small hill with an unfinished snowman sitting at the top. Her name is Cirno. Before Santa could respond to the request appropriately, Cirno bombards Santa with a series of danmaku patterns shaped like icicles and thick snowballs. Santa elevates his sleigh above the barrage and brandishes a Spell Card from his pocket.

"Reindeer Games: Dash Away All!"

Once the card activates, the reins latched to all the reindeer vanish. Their antlers start to glow then they scatter and ram into Cirno one by one, until Cirno's danmaku dissolves. She then hovers in the air in a daze. Santa floats over to Cirno slowly.

[Cirno Defeated]

"I'm afraid my nose is a bit too important to lend out. However, your snowman will appreciate this carrot."

Santa tosses Cirno a bundle of carrots.

"Th-thanks!" The defeated fairy cheers up immediately and darts off back to her incomplete snowman.

[Cirno Exits]

" _Fairies are easily pleased."_

Santa hears a very familiar voice.

"Those with such traits are truly blessed."

[Letty Whiterock Appears]

"Welcome back, Santa."

A maiden in modest blue winter attire and silver hair as pure as snow approaches Santa. As they face each other in the dead center of a snow flurry, the two of them look like polar opposites. No pun intended!

"Well met Ms. Whiterock. Can I count on your blessings again this year?"

Letty bows before replying. "Your path through this snowy land will be as clear as can be."

"Also, if you don't mind, I feel a bit rusty."

This statement fills Letty with determination. "Oh! Shall I whip you back into shape then?"

Santa winds up his right arm while his left arm is pressed on top of his shoulder. "Don't make me lose too many pounds now!"

...

The two stick one palm out toward each other and create a medium-sized snowball. They toss their hands to the side simultaneously. Suddenly, Letty performs a ki-blast hand motion and launches the snowball at Santa. Santa uses his force to stop the snowball before reaching him. He shoots the snowball back with hand motions. The single snowball flies back and forth, and with each lap, the snowball grows in size. Eventually, the snowball grows bigger than both Letty and Santa combined. Once this happens, the snowball suddenly breaks into several smaller ones that are the size of how it began. Letty manipulates them all at once and shoot them at Santa. The defender then removes a green scarf he was wearing and dances about. He dodges every snowball he can while swatting away the rest of them with the tip of his scarf. Once this attack ends, Santa smirks until a large shadow is cast behind him. He turns around to witness a giant snowball heading his way. Santa responds by pulling a Spell Card from his pocket.

"Reindeer Games: Rudolph's Red-Nosed Laser!"

Once the Spell Card activates, the card projects a spectral image of the one reindeer that did not follow Santa on this expedition. The reindeer glares at the giant snowball and shoots a large red laser at the snowball's center. The snowball shatters and splatters about. In the end, several chunks fell all over Letty's outfit. The female winter youkai was a mess.

[Letty Whiterock Defeated]

"Hohoho, looks like I still got it!"

Letty takes off her cap and shakes it off. "I'd say you've gotten better."

Santa pulls out a small gift box and tosses it to Letty. "For you, Ms. Whiterock."

Letty opens the gift. "Safety goggles? These look like the expensive kind."

Santa pats his stomach before replying. "This year, my budget is as loose as my belly."

* * *

[STAGE ONE CLEAR!]


	3. Stage 2

_~Christmas is a time filled with tradition. There is somewhere in Gensokyo that I always go to make sure that I can maintain my own traditions~_

 **{Stage 2 ~ An Icy Genbu Ravine}**

Santa Claus barrels down a ravine in search of another friend. He elevates his sleigh to a point where his reindeers' hooves can play with the water. The relaxing ride continues until they reach the foot of a waterfall. Conveniently enough, the one Santa sought sits on a rock and stares at the visitor with wide eyes.

"Ah-!"

[Nitori Kawashiro Exits]

Before Santa can say a word to her, the blue-haired maiden with a large blue dress and backpack suddenly sprouts a jetpack and launches herself over the waterfall. Santa sighs at the rather short reunion.

"She avoids me every year just the same. Kappa truly do have unfortunate natures."

Santa commands his sleigh to rise above the water. Once he reaches the top, several mechanical turrets wait on the waterfall's edge. Santa and a couple his reindeer now have red beads of light pointed directly at them.

"Hohoho, this looks like the scenic route!"

Santa whips his reins then the fairies at the firearms cockpit shoot their automatic rounds. Santa soars above the competition while dodging the bullets and retaliates by dropping gingerbread cookies. The cookies that did not fall in the water eventually detonate on the gun stations. The explosions give the operators a one-way ticket to the waterfall's bottom. A few more fairies approach Santa's elevation armed with white, futuristic guns with megaphone-like barrels. Santa quickly tosses a series of candy canes that lodge themselves into the gun barrels right before firing. The guns all detonate and the fairies collapse helplessly to the ground.

Santa lands on the bank then turns his attention to a large rock sitting in front of him. The same blue backpack from before is halfway sticking out in view from Santa's angle. About a half-minute later, the kappa named Nitori acknowledges the fact that she has been spotted and peeks behind the rock.

"State your purpose!"

"I come bearing gifts and business."

[Nitori Kawashiro Appears]

"Santa!?"

The big man grins upon hearing his name. "The one and only."

"You sure you're the only one?"

Santa nods before replying. "All the other Santa Clauses are just imitating. See? I'm standing up!"

"Right. Fake Santas do like to sit around all day." As Nitori applies this logic, she throws a hand out and generates a Spell Card. "But I'll know for sure once you show me your moves!"

Nitori's Spell Card disintegrates and then her backpack sprouts mechanical arms and legs, effectively increasing her height by about five times. Nitori stands proud at the mech's control center and pulls several levers. One of the metal arms grows a cannon in its palm and unleashes a barrage of water balloons. Santa decides to hop off his sleigh and hover his way to safety. He flies further upstream dodging more water balloons and green lasers until he sees an empty helipad above water. As Santa decides to land on its center, Nitori's mech foot-dives the same helipad with deadly accuracy.

 **THUD!**

Nitori's attack was met by an unforeseen resistance and her mech suddenly loses balance. It tips over backwards and starts to spin out of control. Apparently, Santa grabbed the mech by its heel and promptly start giving it a giant swing. He keeps up a terrifying momentum until he sees Nitori tumbling out of the machine; then he launches it a quarter-mile towards the edge of the waterfall. Santa walks over to his downed opponent and offers a black mitten to help Nitori off her back. The kappa reluctantly accepts.

[Nitori Kawashiro Defeated]

"You're the real deal alright," Nitori declares. "I should have looked for my logo on your sleigh from the beginning!"

As Nitori makes this statement, his reindeer pull up beside him. "Your logo? Where!?"

"The back and the bottom in-between the runners."

Sure enough, Santa's near year-long hibernation had him miss a large green circle logo with a white symbol identical to Nitori's cap.

"Hohoho, so it is! Well, your services are worth advertising. Speaking of which..."

Nitori lets out a toothy grin. "You're here for an annual sleigh checkup, aren't you?"

"Here's a little incentive for your hard work."

Santa passes Nitori an open gift box. It is a handy tool striped with red and white chrome paint. Nitori eagerly pulls out out and feels it up.

"Ah.. this density.. a titanium wrench!?"

Santa smiles. "Leave it to a kappa to find out so quickly."

Nitori gives the tool a lick and frowns. "Aw, it's not edible!"

"Didn't you _just_ decipher the material..?"

* * *

[STAGE TWO CLEAR!]


	4. Stage 3

_~Christmas is a time full of surprises, but not all surprises are pleasant. One never expects a vehicle breakdown right after a checkup!~_

 **{Stage 3 ~ A recently shoveled** **Myouren Temple}**

Santa Claus literally plummeted into a difficult situation at the foot of the Myouren Temple. First, Santa checks the status of his eight reindeer. Everyone had a great fall, but they were fortunate enough to land in a snow bank. Santa's supreme vision could not detect any injuries amongst the reindeer, therefore everyone must be okay. With that worry off his chest, Santa Claus proceeds towards the temple centre. The moment he passes through the front gates, a peculiar individual with long pink hair darts up to greet him. She is dressed in a blue long-sleeved plaid shirt and a unique pink dress. She also wears a mask that is the spitting image of a jack-o-lantern. Her name is Kokoro.

[Hata no Kokoro Enters]

"Happy Halloween! And... Trick or Treat!"

The surprise ambush is suddenly followed by a sudden barrage of thrown peppermints and candy canes. Santa brandishes an empty bag and collects the thrown candy until it fills up. Then he finds an opportunity to rush through the candy stream and pry the jack-o-lantern mask from Kokoro's face. Kokoro looks up past the thick white beard to stare her opponent in the face with a blank expression.

[Hata no Kokoro Defeated]

"You're on the right track, but perhaps you can use a mask a bit more appropriate for today."

Santa then pulls out an opened gift box and passes the strange mask to Kokoro. She tilts her head at the smiley-face decor.

"Gingerbread..?"

"Hohoho, Merry Christmas!"

" _I know that voice."_

"Why hello Ms. Hijiri."

[Byakuren Hijiri Enters]

An individual with long brown hair and pleasing black/white nun attire walks in on the commotion. Her eyes narrow once she gets an understanding of the current events.

"Saint Nick, I am aware of the time of year, but don't you think soliciting inside the temple grounds is a bit much?"

Santa rubs the back of his neck uneasily. "There is an explanation for this yet."

" _Run, run, as fast as you can!"_

Kokoro, now wearing the smiling gingerbread mask, prances about the background with a cheerful expression. Byakuren clears her throat before continuing.

"Your Holiday is innocent enough, but you do realize that there are many that do not celebrate Christmas. You will find plenty of the like here."

Santa nods. "I am well aware of-"

" _You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man~!"_

Kokoro runs down the courtyard with a large piece of cheese in hand. A mouse youkai named Nazrin proceeds to chase her throughout the monastery.

"Or perhaps you are merely a false Santa for hire," Byakuren continues. "If that's the case, I will lend you a bell and show you your designated area."

Santa Claus responds by closing his eyes and entering a prayer stance. "I suppose the first step is to prove my identity."

Byakuren watches Santa for a moment then joins him in prayer.

...

They find each others' astral selves in an ephemeral dimension. It is this structureless area where they will do battle due to mutual respect for the temple.

Byakuren conjures a bundle of light orbs with her prayer. The Santa she knows would not budge from an attack so basic. Sure enough, the orbs dissolve when they reach a foot away from Santa's area. The small convictions do nothing to penetrate Santa's intense dark aura known as _Silent Night._ Therefore Byakuren must up the ante. She decides this while generating a Spell Card.

"Good Omen: Nirvana's Cloudy Way in Purple!"

Byakuren now emits a dark aura very similar to Santa's Silent Night. She then proceeds to mesh Santa's aura with her own. The clouds of the meshed auras eventually take the shape of two interlocked hands. The stronger aura will be the one to sink the other aura to head level.

Byakuren would have the upper hand in a physical arm wrestling competition, but beating the fellow magician is not her real objective. The real Santa Claus possesses an aura hardened with countless years of devotion and fortitude. The devotion comes from the ability to deliver gifts to everybody, every year. The fortitude comes from managing to do so despite how few people in the world stop believing in his existence. That stipulation would mark the death of most youkai, but Santa is alive and well. Byakuren's objective is to witness this rare aura that outclasses even her own.

 **THUMP!**

And Santa her expectations in almost no time flat.

[Byakuren Hijiri Defeated]

"Santa..."

"My apologies Ms. Hijiri," says Santa. "The truth is my sleigh crashed here right after getting it checked up."

"So that's what it is. Has the kappa truly gone _that_ route?"

"Perish the thought! The naughty list has yet to see the first letter of her name!"

"I see..." Byakuren pauses for a moment. "Ah!"

"What is it?"

Byakuren points to a different vehicle in the sky before replying. "The Palanquin Ship might be responsible for your plight now that I think about it."

"Hoho, I see." Santa closes his eyes and concludes that she might be onto something. "At any rate, here's a gift for your inconvenience."

"Santa passes Byakuren an opened gift box. It is a red and white cotton outfit with a matching triangular hat."

"A Santa suit..? You would."

"They're all the rage these days," Santa smirks. "Try it on. It should fit you perfectly down to the last millimeter."

"..And where did you obtain my measurements?"

"All reindeer, dash up and away!"

Santa leaps in the air and his eight reindeer zip and swoop the man up in his flying chariot. The lot of them soar upward to their new destination in the sky.

"..."

* * *

[STAGE 3 CLEAR]


End file.
